Little Moments
by Jameson Rook
Summary: "Yeah, I live for little moments when she steals my heart again, and doesn't even know it. Yeah, I live for little moments like that." Ryan/Alexis future fic. This is a shameless fluff piece.


_**Hello, world. I know it's been a while since I've peeked my head out of the little hole that I like to call "Writer's Block". So, this is my attempt to get back into the swing of writing things again. **_

_** Disclaimer: Castle and all its characters belong to Andrew W. Marlowe and ABC. "Little Moments" belongs to Brad Paisley.**_

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_** I'll never forget the first time that I heard,**_

_** That pretty mouth say that dirty word.**_

_** And I can't even remember now what she backed my truck into,**_

_** But she covered her mouth and her face got red,**_

_** And she just look so darn cute **_

_** That I couldn't even act like I was mad.**_

_** Yeah, I live for little moments like that.**_

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__"Alexis?" Ryan's voice echoed through the apartment as he shrugged out of his jacket, tossing his car keys onto the table next to the door. "Honey? Are you home?" He waited for a response but got nothing. He stepped into the kitchen and opened the door on their brushed steel fridge, snagging a beer and just as he was twisting the top off he heard her aggrivated voice from their bedroom. He chuckled and headed down the hall.

He peeked into the room and found her surrounded by photo frames and boxes. She mumbled something to herself and opened the back of one of the frames. She retracted her hand quickly, sucking her finger into her mouth.

"Son of a bitch..." She muttered, examining the small cut on her thumb.

"Babe?" He chuckled, coming across the room to sit next to her. "What are you doing?" Alexis jumped slightly at the sound of his voice.

"Hey," She leaned in and kissed him quickly. "When did you get home?"

"I've been here a couple minutes. So, what are you doing?" He took a long sip from his beer.

"Well, it's my dad and Kate's anniversary Saturday so I wanted to make them a photo album with all of the guys at the precinct, us and the twins." She huffed, running her hands through her red locks.

"So, what's the problem, sweetheart?" He asked softly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to him, resting his cheek on top of her head.

"I can't seem to find a picture that I actually look good in. I look like Frankenstein's monster in all of them. Why didn't you ever tell me that I am hideous in pictures?" She glanced up at him, tears hovering on the edges of her eyes. Ryan actually barked out a laugh at her ridiculous statement.

"That's crazy. You're beautiful, any picture of you is phenomenal." He leaned over her and lifted the photo in her hand. A soft smile fell across his lips as he glanced at the photo of them dancing at their wedding reception. Her gown had been nothing short of amazing, the white silk had been beaded across the torso, and fell across her curves perfectly. The picture was of their first dance, and he had his arms wrapped awkwardly around her and he remembered self-conciously counting out the dance steps they'd learned in the class he had to take in his head. His black tux was a beautiful contrast to the stark white wedding gown.

In the back ground Rick and Kate had been looking on tenderly, Rick's hand settled on Kate's stomach. She'd been seven months pregnant with the twins at the wedding, which had made the entire scene of her dancing with Rick hilarious as he tried to position his arms in a way that he could actually hold his wife.

"I'm not. Look at this!" She held up a photo of the gang from the precinct at her dorm when they'd moved all of her furniture in on the first day of college. Ryan took it in his hand and brushed his fingers over their faces. He couldn't help but chuckle when he saw her pinky linked with his covertly. They'd started 'seeing' each other the month before she'd gone to college, two months after she turned eighteen and Ryan had been bombarded with emotions that he'd apparently kept bottled up.

"You're beautiful." He whispered, taking the photos from her hands and turning her to face him. "And you're my wife. And I love you." He reached down and brushed his fingers over her bulging stomach. "All of you."

"You mean that?" She sniffled, her blue eyes meeting his. He nodded slowly at her, a smile plastered onto his face. "Even though I'm as big as a house?"

"Of course I do, honey. I love you, Alexis Ryan. And I think that any photo you have will be perfect because you're perfect." She tucked her head under his chin and he smiled, placing a kiss to her firey hair. That was when he smiled because Kevin Ryan realized something that evening. This was what all those singers meant in the love songs.

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_** That's like just last year on my birthday,**_

_** She lost all track of time and burnt the cake. **_

_** Every smoke detector in the house was going off,**_

_** And she was just about to cry until I took her in my arms.**_

_** And I tried not to let her see me laugh,**_

_** Yeah, I live for little moments like that.**_

_** I know she's not perfect, but she tries so hard for me, **_

_** And I thank God that she isn't, cause how boring would that be?**_

_** It's the little imperfections, it's the sudden change in plans**_

_** When she misreads the directions, and we're lost, but holding hands.**_

_** Yeah, I live for little moments like that.**_

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__"I think...I'm not sure but I think we might be going the wrong way." She muttered, spinning the map around to look at it in another direction. "Where are we?" Ryan chuckled and pulled their Jeep to the side of the road.

"I'm not sure, babe. Let me see the map." He extended his hand and stared at the tangle of roads for a moment before he burst out laughing. She eyed him cautiously, a frown set into her features.

"What's so funny?" He leaned over and pointed to a small red arrow on the map.

"You see this road here?" She nodded. "That's where we're supposed to be." He took out a pen and marked a small spot nearly on the other side of the map. "This, here? This is where we are." He chuckled, kissing her temple when she dropped her head into her hands.

"I'm sorry, Kevin." She sniffled, her voice slightly muffled by her hands. Ryan laughed and lifted her face with a finger under her chin, his eyes searching hers.

"Why are you sorry?" He asked, his voice soft and tender.

"Because, now we're going to be late for the camping trip, and we're lost and it's my fault." Ryan sighed gently and brushed her tears away with his thumb.

"It's not your fault, Alexis. And we won't be late, your dad and Kate _own_ the cabin. It's not like we're on a time schedule, honey." He chuckled quietly and dropped a kiss to her forehead, the look on her face making his heart skip a beat. She didn't even know how capable she was of completely turning his world on its ear simply by throwing him a smile. It made her all the more endearing to him.

"I love you, Kevin." She muttered, wrapping her arms around his waist and settling her head into his shoulder.

"And I love you, babe." He replied, a thousand-watt smile across her face as he let his head rest on top of hers. They stayed like that, and Ryan completely lost track of time for a moment. When they finally pulled away, he brushed the pad of his thumb across the bottom of her lip and placed a gentle kiss to her mouth before shifting the Jeep back into gear and pulling onto the road, making sure that they were on the right trail.

They had driven about fifteen minutes in companionable silence when she reached across the console and laced her fingers with his, her eyes still fixated on the wilderness that was rushing by their window. He smirked as he glanced at her, bringing her left hand to his lips and placing a kiss just about the wedding ring on her finger before settling their hands back onto his leg.

For a brief moment he completely cleared his mind and allowed himself to thank God for all of the broken, mismanaged relationships that he had tripped and stumbled through. Each one of them had lead him into the arms of the woman that he knew he was going to spend the rest of his life with. He hadn't seen it the year that Castle had been essentially dumped onto the lap of their homicide team, but it was actually the best thing that had ever happened to him (and Beckett). Castle being assigned to their team had led to him meeting Alexis, and he wouldn't change that for the world.

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_** When she's laying on my shoulder on he sofa in the dark,**_

_** And about the time she falls asleep, so does my right arm.**_

_** And I want so bad to move it, cause it's tingling and it's numb,**_

_** But she looks so much like an angel that I don't want to wake her up.**_

_** Yeah, I live for little moments when she steals my heart again,**_

_** And doesn't even know it.**_

_** Yeah, I live for little moments like that.**_

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__The first night that Ryan had realized he was in love with Alexis Castle was burned into his brain like it was yesterday. She had stormed into the precinct, looking for Castle and Beckett, her pale cheeks stained with tears. Ryan had been the only one working late, and had let Esposito go home with Lanie and Castle had left with Kate hours before. He was staring at the murder board when the red-headed spit fire had blown past him.

"Alexis?" He'd called after her, his voice echoing back at him in the emptiness of the bullpen. He glanced at the clock and mentally chastised himself for still being there close to three hours after everyone else had left. Since his break up with Jenny six months prior he had been spending more nights curled up on the uncomfortable precinct couch then his own bed. He followed Alexis into the break room. "What are you doing here, Lex?" The nickname had slipped from his lips without his consent.

"I'm looking for dad." She choked out, a sob catching in her throat.

"He left to go to dinner with Beckett hours ago." He stepped closer, his eyes full of concern. "What's wrong, Alexis?" Ryan pulled out a chair for her to sit in and sat next to her.

"Ashley." She said simply, staring at the table in front of her. Ryan felt his blood boil at the man's name. Since Alexis had turned eighteen, Ryan had been battling an onslaught of emotions for the girl that he hadn't even realized he possessed. He figured that this was why things hadn't worked out between him and Jenny. She wasn't the one that his heart wanted.

"Did he hurt you?" Ryan ground out between gritted teeth. Every muscle in his body was tensed to attack him if that man had done _anything_ to hurt Alexis.

"No, he didn't hurt me. It's not like that, Kevin." He winced slightly, the use of his first name sending an arrow straight through his heart. "He just... he's been cheating on me out at Stanford. That's why he hasn't been returning my phone calls. He says that he thinks we should see other people." She said finally, a tear escaping her closed lids. Ryan subconciously brought his hand up and brushed it away, causing her eyes to flutter open and glance at him.

"If he doesn't see what a beautiful, smart, amazing woman that you are, then he doesn't deserve you anyway, Alexis." He whispered, his mind no longer in control of his own speech pattern. She scoffed quietly.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better." She replied, looking back at the table. He hooked his finger under her chin and brought her gaze back to his.

"No, I'm not." He shook his head slightly. "I meant every word." Alexis stared at him, mouth agape, for a moment before moving her head towards his cautiously. Ryan felt his breath catch in his throat as her lips hovered centimeters from his. He connected their lips and felt sparks shoot through his body. When they finally pulled away from the chaste kiss, Alexis was blushing wildly.

"I'm sorry, Ryan, I..." She stammered, brushing her hair behind her ear. Ryan chuckled and placed his finger to her lips.

"Lex," He began when she stopped talking. "I'm not sorry."

"So...what now?" She asked.

"Well, we could always start with Chinese take-out and a good action flick at my apartment to get your mind off that douchebag that was dumb enough to let you go. Then, we'll see where things go from there. Okay?" She nodded, a smile spreading on her face. "No need to rush things, but I wouldn't tell Castle just yet..." He laughed softly, helping her out of the chair and collecting his things as they headed toward the elevator.

Nearly three hours later, Ryan was reclined on his couch, his feet kicked up on his coffee table among scattered take out boxes and ice cream pints. The credits to the Jackie Chan movie that Alexis had picked out were rolling, but he wasn't paying any attention. His gaze was fixed on the woman sleeping on his arm, which had fallen asleep somewhere between the last two fight scenes.

He stared at his fingers as he flexed them subtly, a tingle shooting through his body as his sleeping muslces revolted. He wanted to slide his arm out and work it back into a normal state, but the small smile on Alexis' sleeping face was enough to make him decide against the idea. He smirked at her and dropped a kiss to her forehead.

For once in his life, Kevin Ryan wasn't worried about the "what if"s or the possibilty of failure. He was content to simply _be_. With Alexis, he was going to cherish every moment as if it were their last, but he prayed to God that it wouldn't be. He would always take note of the little moments like this. Always.

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_** So...? Love it? Hate it? Take it or leave it? Drop me a review, let me know. Much love, J.R.**_


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